Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/category/education/page/19/)
It’s early Friday morning and students from the Freedom School on Concordia Ave. are greeting each other over the rumbling of a djembe drum. Staff members are playing loud, kid-friendly hip-hop music from gym speakers while little ones are eagerly expending their morning energy with some impromptu dancing, call-and-response and a little bit of reading aloud.
Satire is sometimes the best way for a writer to make a point, especially on topics that are simply so foolish as to invite a little constructive ridicule. Such is the case for the following commentary by MSR’s editor-in-chief. It originates from a conversation we had one day in the editorial department about the bewildering variety of people and programs popping up left and right promising to fix the infamous Achievement Gap between Black and White students. There were literally hundreds of initiatives with nearly as many different approaches to the problem. It seemed absurdly complicated. Continue Reading
Every Minnesotan has a stake in the fight to keep the Internet an accessible, open platform. Schools and education groups, however, are particularly vulnerable to the damage of losing net neutrality. Continue Reading
EXPO Elementary parents are up in arms because their kids won’t be able to take music during the school day next year.
Some 25 years ago, the Annie E. Casey Foundation began an annual, in-depth report on the well-being of children in the United States. The 2014 report shows our accomplishments — and our shameful failures. The area of education shows both. Continue Reading
After weeks of contention, the University of St. Thomas voted against unionizing adjunct faculty late yesterday afternoon.On July 21, the National Labor Relations Board tabulated the votes with 84 in favor of unionizing and 136 opposed, with 24 votes challenged before the session was over, according to university officials. About 300 adjunct instructors were eligible to vote.The union has until July 28 to file an appeal over the decision, said adjunct professor Kathy Jenson, in which case the NLRB will gather evidence and likely hold a hearing to determine the merit of the objections. If no objections are filed the decision will take effect on July 29 and the university will continue to work with adjunct faculty without union backing, she said.While some adjunct professors argued that the university treats adjunct professors unfairly by keeping them for several years without offering tenure, other professors have argued that unionizing now would be too soon and take away adjunct’s bargaining rights.There was a particularly large turnout for this vote, said Jenson.”This was a very high turnout of voters during this summer election,” she said, “when adjunct faculty is not on campus.”Correction: This article stated the vote would take effect on the wrong date. With no objections filed the vote will take effect on July 29. Continue Reading
The Twin Cities Somali community has lost an esteemed leader and a passionate advocate for Somali families.Abdulrahman Adem, a cultural facilitator at Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), died Sunday of a heart attack. He was 58.Adem was known for his commitment to serve Somali families with students in Minneapolis schools as their ultimate ambassador in the school district. He was also known for his commitment to help his immigrant community navigate the district’s complicated educational system and find the resources they needed.Adem, who worked at MPS since 1997, held various posts in the district: bilingual program aide, associate educator, bilingual communicator, translator and communications and public affairs specialist.Community Sketchbook focuses on the economic and social challenges facing communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color, and how people are trying to address them. It is made possible by sponsorship support from The Minneapolis Foundation. Community Sketchbook articles may be republished or distributed, in print or online, with credit to MinnPost and the foundation.Whatever his job title, Adem always made sure that school officials heard the voices of Somali families — and to ensure this, Adem didn’t hesitate to take issues directly into administrators’ offices, invited or uninvited.I had the privilege to work with Adem when I worked in the office of communications, and like many people, I immediately noticed his enthusiasm, commitment and compassion. Continue Reading
Parents and students in the United States scored a major victory 60 years ago in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which decreed an end to school desegregation. More recently, Twin Cities parents and teachers scored another victory in a long and convoluted fight for school integration. That fight also is related to a lawsuit brought over school segregation.The roots of this most recent battle go back to a lawsuit filed in the mid-1990s by the NAACP and Minnesota attorney Daniel Shulman, which sought to end school segregation in Minnesota. The suit ended in a negotiated settlement that, among other things, resulted in the creation of the Choice is Yours Program, which allows students living in poverty to attend schools outside of their district.In the Twin Cities, several “integration districts” were created. One of these districts is the East Metro Integration District 6067 (EMID) created to oversee both the K-6 Harambee (pronounced “hair-rom-BAY”) Community Cultures/Environmental Science Elementary school in Maplewood and the Crosswinds School of Arts and Sciences, a six-10 middle school in Woodbury.The East Metro Integration District itself is a collaboration of urban-suburban school districts formed to mitigate racial isolation in the East Metro area. Continue Reading
Corinthian Colleges, a country-wide for-profit college company, recently collapsed while under federal review. For-profit colleges like to portray themselves as a good option for students who haven’t succeeded anywhere else but this happy story doesn’t always match reality. Corinthian’s story illustrates how the for-profit approach to college can go very wrong. Continue Reading
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities’ recently announced a $2 million contract with consulting group McKinsey & Company to assist with a system-wide initiative, Charting the Future. The contract made headlines when Chancellor Steve Rostenstone did not mention McKinsey or the contract after a student asked about the cost of the initiative. Additionally, Rosenstone did not update the Board of Trustees on the contract agreement. Continue Reading